by Diana Orgain
“I’m missing her. Her face, her smell, her entire little personage!”
Jim laughed. “Her entire little personage has been asleep since you left.”
“Is she breathing?”
“Of course she’s breathing.”
“When’s the last time you checked?”
“Hold on.”
I tried not to panic. I bit into my Big Mac and waited. What was taking him so long?
“She’s fine.”
“You have to check on her, make sure she’s okay.”
“I am. I do. I mean, she right here. She’s fine. Kate, you haven’t even been gone an hour.”
“I know, all right. It just feels like longer. Feed her when she wakes up and make sure to check her diaper. I’m having lunch right now. I need to make a couple more stops, and then I’ll be home. If you need anything, call me on my cell.”
Jim laughed.
“What?”
“You’re having lunch? It’s not even noon yet,” Jim said.
“Yeah, but they stop selling breakfast at eleven.”
“Where are you?”
I laughed. “You don’t want to know.” I shoved a french fry into my mouth.
After we hung up, I ate my lunch and mulled over my notebook. I reviewed the entries from the interview with Jennifer. She told me she’d been with her ex-boyfriend, Winter, on June fifteenth. Never said a peep about an affair with Brad or him coming over to see her that night. Well, why would she?
What did I expect? That she’d come right out and tell me she killed him?
What had Galigani said? That guilty people are not usually paranoid. They want you to ask them questions because they think they can fool you. Jennifer had been extremely forthcoming when I’d met her. Offering up an alibi for the night of Brad’s murder without my asking. Of course, she hadn’t told me about her affair with Brad. Galigani was right, she had fooled me.
I dialed information as I chomped down on my burger, and requested an address for Winter Henderson.
Luck was with me. As it turned out, he lived in the Haight, a few blocks away. I wouldn’t have to deal with parking and I could walk off an entire french fry or two.
I polished off the rest of my burger and packed up my notebook. I refilled my diet soda on the way out, reminding myself not to drink anything offered to me by strangers. By the time I arrived at Winter’s house, I was winded, but my bones didn’t hurt. Progress was progress.
The house was small and square, tucked in between two larger apartment buildings. I rang the bell. A very tall and bearded man answered the door. He had bright boyish eyes that warmed his complexion. I introduced myself and told him I was looking for Winter Henderson.
His face lit up. “That’s me.”
I told him I was investigating Brad Avery’s murder. “I want to ask you a couple questions about the night of June fifteenth.”
He twisted his lips to one side of his mouth. “Him again?”
“You’ve already talked to someone about him?”
He stroked his beard. “The cops. I guess my ex-girlfriend, Jennifer, told them she was with me that night.”
“Was she?”
He shrugged. “I don’t really know. That was months ago.”
I sipped on my soda. “Do you keep a diary, or a calendar or anything?”
“Nope.”
So he didn’t remember spending every night with the woman for three consecutive months?
We shared an awkward moment in the doorway. He was obviously not going to invite me in. I had to think up more questions fast or the door would be closing in my face shortly. “Did your relationship end amiably?”
His clenched his hands into fists, his arms dangling at his sides. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. No, it didn’t.”
“I’m sorry to have to ask this. I’m sure you don’t like to talk about it, but do you know if she was seeing anyone else?”
His face flushed. “You mean while she was seeing me? I don’t know. Who would she have been seeing? No. I don’t think so. We broke up because she got this new job at a store near her house and she kind of changed. Sort of became distant and aloof.” His voice cracked. “I didn’t like that.”
“Of course not,” I said, “Who would like that?”
He nodded and seemed to relax. “Yeah, right. See, she kind of turned nasty.”
Why would she change after leaving El Paraiso? Unless maybe she was under some kind of stress. Of course, if she killed Brad, that could have caused some major stress.
“I really fell for her. I thought we were going to get married.” His voice cracked again.
“Sometimes things work out for the best, even though we don’t think so at the time.”
From inside the house a voice called out, “Winter! Who’s there?”
He turned around as though he’d been struck. “No one, Ma. I’m coming.” He turned to me. “I gotta go.”
“Thanks for your time,” I said, retreating down the stairs.
I walked down the street, reflecting on the case. If Jennifer killed Brad, how could she dispose of the body on her own? Maybe Winter had helped her. Perhaps that was why he didn’t want to give her an alibi. If he admitted to being with her, he could implicate himself as her accomplice.
What could have happened?
Brad was in love with Jennifer, Jennifer was in love with Winter. Brad was pestering her. Hounding her. Wouldn’t leave her alone.
Maybe Jennifer grew afraid her boyfriend, Winter, would find out about the affair? Would that be motive enough to kill Brad?
Jennifer knew George, so maybe she knew about the gun in his bag. She could have taken George’s gun and shot Brad and then asked Winter to help her get rid of the body.
But then why would Winter help her dispose of Brad’s body? That part of my scenario made no sense. I’d have to work on it a bit more.
I sipped my soda as I walked into Heavenly Haight. Incense was burning. The chime rang as I stepped on the floor mat. Jennifer looked up. She glanced at me, but turned her attention back to the customer she was waiting on, who couldn’t decide between unscented candles, which her boyfriend liked, or scented candles, which she preferred.
I fingered a collection of handmade earrings as I waited. As soon as the customer left, Jennifer turned her attention to me.
“What’s up?” she asked, nervously tugging at her blond curls.
My visit was clearly annoying her. “Can you tell me again where you were on June fifteenth?”
“I was with my boyfriend, Winter. I already told you, and that fat cop, too. I mean, how many times do I need to answer the same stupid questions? I was with Winter.”
“Winter’s not really sure about that.”
Jennifer blinked. “Well, he’s just bitter. He’s upset because I met his stupid mother and she didn’t like me. She didn’t think I was good enough for her little boy, so he broke up with me. Can you believe it? He dumped me because his mommy said so! I was this close to getting engaged.” She made a gesture with her hands, bringing her fingers together.
I noticed the nail on her index finger was broken, making it the only short nail on either hand.
Could she have broken it in a fight with Michelle or Svetlana?
“What happened to your hand?”
“What?” Jennifer glanced down at her hand.
“Your nail. It’s broken.”
“My nails break all the time. I don’t think I’m getting enough protein. I’m a vegetarian, you know, so I have to eat beans and cheese and those kinds of things, but they’re very fattening, so I try to avoid them and my nails get brittle.”
She looked at me. I suppose she expected me to encourage her or applaud her choices. Instead, I sipped on my leftover Diet Coke and wondered what her opinion of McDonald’s was.
“Yeah, so you say you were at Winter’s but he can’t confirm it, so that kind of leaves you without an alibi.”
“Well, I was there.” S
he played with one of the silver rings around her thumb. “You can ask the neighbors, or whatever you guys do. I don’t know what to tell you. I was there.”
Should I mention the Brad sighting at her apartment?
“How about Thursday morning? Since she’s your boss, I presume you know Svetlana Avery was murdered.”
Jennifer looked genuinely confused. “I was working. Here. Like I always am. I told the cops that, too. Everyone here was shocked when we heard. But we were told to stay open. Business as usual.”
“Someone sure had it out for Brad’s whole family, huh? First him, then Michelle, now the ex-wife.” I eyed her carefully. “With odds like that, I’d hate to be his mistress.”
She grimaced. Our eyes locked. Was that fear in her eyes? She slipped past me and locked the store door, pocketing the key.
“What are you doing?” I said, the panic in my voice scaring even me.
Jennifer ignored me and rummaged through a shelf behind the counter.
Blood roared in my ears. I felt dizzy.
What was she getting, a gun?
If I moved now, I could take her. I was taller. I could push her against the wall, grab the gun, and call 9-1-1.
I rushed the counter and shoved hard against her shoulders. She jumped, dropping the object in her hands. A bong.
“Hey! What are you doing?” she demanded.
I stared at the bong. “When you locked me in here, I thought you had a gun. For Christ’s sake, I’m investigating three murders!”
Jennifer rubbed at her shoulders. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted a little something to take the edge off.” She pulled open a drawer. Inside were baggies filled with marijuana.
Who kept that kind of stash in a store?
She selected a bag from the drawer and squatted behind the counter, safely hidden from street view as she lit the bong and inhaled. “Maybe you need a hit, too.”
I exhaled and slumped down next to her. “I’ll pass. Want to tell me about you and Brad?”
After a moment she nodded. “We were working at the restaurant together and, you know, one thing led to another. We were staying out late, partying. . He was really cool and everything, but a little uptight. So, not totally my type, but, you know, he was so good lookin’.” She opened the baggie and loaded the bong. “Anyway, we were smoking and drinking, and what can I tell you? The sex was really hot, so we just kinda kept at it.”
“Were you seeing each other up until his death?”
“Oh, no! It went down kinda rough. Eventually, I had to tell him that he wasn’t my type. By then I’d started seeing Winter. We were much more alike, much more compatible. I thought he was my soul mate.” She sighed. “I had to tell Brad. He didn’t take it too good. . cuz, you know, I think he liked me a lot.”
“Why did Brad come to see you on June fifteenth?”
She played with the lighter in her hand. “To try and get back together.”
“You said no?”
“I told him no way in hell. He left really mad. If I had known that I was never gonna see him again, and that Winter was gonna dump me, well, hell, one final final wouldn’t have been too bad.”
“Do you have any idea who killed Brad, Michelle, and Svetlana?” I asked.
Jennifer took a hit and slowly shook her head. “Wish I did.”
•CHAPTER NINETEEN•
The Sixth Week-Discovery
Monday rolled around sooner than I would have liked. I hated the idea of Jim having to go to work.
“I wish you could take more time off to be with me and the baby. After all, I’m supposed to be back to the office next week.”
“What are we going to do about day care?” Jim asked.
My throat constricted. Leave my angel with strangers all day? “We won’t need day care.”
“Honey, we have to be realistic. I mean, even if you solve this homicide for Mrs. Avery, we still need a second income.”
“I could get another client.”
Jim looked at me, a cross of pity and love on his face.
“You think I’m kidding myself, don’t you?” I asked.
He wrapped his arms around me. “I totally believe in you and support you and love you.”
“You think I’m kidding myself.”
“How about I ask for a raise today?”
I pulled out of his embrace and looked into his eyes. “You certainly deserve one.”
“Yeah. I’ve been landing them new clients left and right. You should have seen the ad campaign I presented last week. Maybe I can squeeze a few more dollars out of them, or hell, even a promotion.”
Relief washed over me. Maybe I could stay home after all.
“You better get going then,” I said. “You don’t want to be late on the day you get promoted.”
To-Do List:
1. Find Brad and/or Michelle and Svetlana’s killer.
2. ✓
3. Get some sleep.
4. ✓
5. Figure out how to launch this PI business-need license?
6. Research day care for Jelly Bean-just in case.
7. Start diet.
8. Pick up some dental whitener.
9. Find time for manicure/pedicure.
I looked over my list. How could I prioritize that to-do list? Could I really find a killer?
Well, I had found George, hadn’t I?
Please don’t be one and the same, I prayed, unable to control the nausea that surfaced.
The phone rang, interrupting my thoughts.
“Kate. Nora Collins here. How are you and the baby?”
My boss from corporate hell.
“Fine. Fine. Everyone is good.”
“Great. Glad to hear it. Did you get the basket we sent?”
The staff from my office had sent a baby bathing basket. In it was a little yellow ducky robe complete with a bill hood and two feet dangling from the end of it, a couple of rubber duckies, baby shampoo, lotion and soap, and a waterproof bath book.
I hadn’t had the time or energy to mail the thank-you cards. What had happened to my manners? I reached for the pen that was near me and re-added “Mail thank-you cards” to my to-do list.
“We got the basket,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Glad you like it. Sheryl picked out everything. You know how she likes to shop.”
Sheryl was Nora’s ever faithful and devoted assistant. Everyone in the office knew Nora would be lost without Sheryl.
“Have you thought about your return date?” Nora asked.
I’d thought of little else, except for Laurie and solving this mystery.
What to tell Nora?
I want to launch my own business so I can stay home with my little treasure and my husband is hopefully going to get a raise today, so maybe I won’t be coming back. Besides, I’d probably crack in two if I had to leave Laurie, so you don’t really want me back.
“I don’t have a return date yet. I have to see my doctor first and get a release,” I said.
“Of course,” Nora said. “I understand.”
Did she understand? She didn’t have any children, or a spouse for that matter. She had given up everything to climb the corporate ladder.
I tried to put a little cheer into my voice. “Thanks for calling and checking in. Tell everyone I said hello. I’ll let you know about my return date after I see my doctor.”
We hung up.
I paced.
Return to work? Ugh!
Not that there was anything wrong with my job. It was a good job, and I worked with decent people. I was responsible for the management of the entire architectural office. It was a creative place to work, and things were always busy around me. But I would have to be away from Laurie all day, every day.
I had to find a way to solve this crime. Investigation was much more exciting than my corporate job ever had been. And more important, if I could launch my own business, it would give me freedom and flexibility.
I googled “st
arting a business” and got busy reading.
Laurie was nestled comfortably in the baby carrier, lunch barely on the table, when I heard the front door slam. Laurie and I peeked into the hallway in time to see Jim let his briefcase fall to the floor with a loud thud.
“What are you doing back so soon?”
He stared at me. “I was fired.”
“Fired? I thought everything was going well.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You said the presentation went great. What about the promotion? The raise?”
“My presentation was great. We got the account. I landed my firm a multimillion-dollar account and they canned my ass.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They found out that I got arrested.”
“What? How? And what does that have to do with anything? You’re not guilty of anything! You were released.”
Laurie began to wail, as though she sensed we were upset. Funny how intuitive people are when they start out.
“That cop, McNearny, plays poker every Saturday night with Josh Garner, the top partner at my firm. Turns out McNearny blabs that I was arrested. Josh pulled me into his office this morning and said I’d violated, get this, a moral turpitude clause in my employee contract.”
I sat on our couch, stunned. Waves of disbelief washed over me. “I can’t believe it! You haven’t been convicted of anything!”
“I know. He said it didn’t matter, said it was bad for the firm’s image.”
“Maybe if you talked to another partner. What about Dylan-”
“Screw it! I’m not going to beg for my job. Ungrateful bastards!”
I stared at the mallard print that hung above our fireplace. A bird in flight. I love that picture simply because it’s an incredible act of nature. Such a small creature defying nature’s biggest law. Gravity.
I mustered the most courage I could. “Honey, we’re a team. We’re going to figure this thing out. Together!”
Jim’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve never been fired before.”
Pain shot through my temples. “You think I should go back to the office?”
His eyes searched out mine. “I don’t know what I think. I know how you feel about being home with Laurie.”
